Legacy includes inspiring Alameda first responders to carry blood plasma to help save lives
Doug Clifton, a revered retired firefighter, Captain and EMS Chief for the Alameda Fire Department and his partner Kathy Katz died last year on September 17 when a box truck slammed into their motorcycle as the two were en route to the 2025 Colorado Firefighter Memorial ceremony, an event they regularly attended.
The loss of Clifton and Katz left hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people whose lives they touched–and in some cases literally saved—in grief, shock, and disbelief.
More than 200 family, friends, and fellow firefighters packed Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, February 22, as two Alameda Fire rigs, including the City’s classic 1932 fire engine—a mainstay in Alameda’s 4th of July parade—parked silently outside, mobile monuments to mark the poignant occasion.
Speaker after speaker, including Clifton’s two daughters, Cassidy Clifton and Kendall Walker, Katz’s son, Evan Katz, and EMS Education Coordinator for the Alameda Fire Department Dan Gerard reprised a common thread that characterized the lives of the dynamic duo. They were a couple with very different personalities who shared great hearts and a common mission to better the health and well being of others…